Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-04-15
THE BIRDS OF INDIA.
A HINOOO TELLS OF CURIOUS SU-
PERSTITloNS CONCERNING THEM.


PERSTITloNS CONCERNING THEM.
the Peacoek-The "Adjutant,'' the
Crane and the Cuckoo-Legend of the
Chakwa--Lost Money.
The very interesting quotations from the
Folk Lore of British Birds" tempt me tell Of
some curious superstitions current in India
about birds I can only mention few of
them-those that come to my mind at the
moment. II may be mentioned, however,
that some Indian legends and sayings about
birds will he found in the pages of the Hin
dustani- English Dictionary" by Dr. Fallon,
the only man, European or native, who, so
far as | am aware, ever attempted to collect
these stories and savings.
In India as elsewhere the common owl is a
bird of i'll omen; but a white species is held
in high esteem by the Hindoos The white
owl is always supposed TO bring good luck
hence it is held sacred to the goddess of pros
per1ty, and the people are pleased when it
builds its nest in their houses in the coun-
try these birds often establish their quarters
in the darkest hooks and corners of old
houses, breeding there generally twice year
and producing five or six young ones at a
time; and all their screeching and shrieking
is endured for luck's sake 1t is considered
great good fortune to get a glimpse of a
white owl in the daytime. The crow bears
the same evil reputation in India as in other
countries; ifs cry thrice repeated being
thought a sure token of death. But in some
parts crow or raven cawing only once on
the left of young woman is held as sign
that her lover is coming to meet her The
name of the bat is never uttered at night by
the common people. the belief being that the
utterer would soon lose all his property
A curious legend about the chakwa, or
Brahmini duck is found all over India For
some indiscretion two lovers were turned into
Brahmini ducks and condemned to pass the
night apart from each other on the opposite
banks of river. All night long each asks in
its turn if it shall join its mate, and the an
swer is always No. "Chakwa, shall Gomez
NO, chakwi." ''Chakwi, shall | Gomez
No, chakwar The chakor or Indian red
legged partridge. which is found all over the
Himalayas the hen Laws from ten to fif-
teen eggs, is said TO be enamored of the moon
and to eat fire at the full moon-possihly
from the fact of its seeming to hover about
the moon The appearance of the chatak, a
small bird, is held to presase good shower
of rain; the bird living only on rain drops
and always crying for them
The peacock is said to scream and dance
with iov at the sound of thunder, and he
dances. dances on: when be looks down he
f,tf h. ocl d, ,,,rI,-
they say The peacock is credited with a
strong tbievish propensity as appears from
this saving: The deer. the monkey, the
partridge, and the peacock rob the field of its
store ANYTHING that betrays itself is likened
to "a peacock in the thief's house"-a saying
founded on the story of a peacock which
swallowed gold necklace brought home by
thief This bird is sacred to the Hindu god
of beauty, who is represented as riding on it
The kite, the hawk and the vulture are al
regarded as very unluckv birds The screech
ing of the first brings serious misfortune, the
sight of the second famine and oppression
| and the approach of the third death. By
whirling kite round the head of a Moslen
child on Tuesday or Saturday and then let
ting it go great blessings are insured to the
| little one. Fowlers trade on this superstition
Kites sometimes carry off gold ornaments
| and Mohammedan women say the reason is
because the young kites will not open theil
eyes till some gold is placed in the nest; hence
the saving "The philosophers stone is in the
| kites nest" The half mythical garuda, 6
! kind of eagle sometimes called iutant,
is the mortal enemy of snakes. The legend
| goes that the mother of garuda quarreled
| with her sister. who was the mother of the
| snakes, respecting the color of the hole that
was produced at the churning of the ocean
and since that time there has been constant
| enmity between their descendants On th'
occasion of garudas marriage, the serpents
alarmed at the thought of his having children
who might destroy them, made fierce attscl
on him: but he slew them all save one, which
he has since worn an ornament around biz
neck. To this day superstitious Hindoos re
| peat the name of garuda three times vher
walking in the fields and going to sleep a
| night as a safeguard against snakes
The crane is considered to be the most Gun
ming of all birds. 1t stations itself quietly b,
a pool, apparently absorbed in meditation
till it sees fish to dart upon. So the wor,
crane" has become synonymous with tb
| ptti tiiIipl tbt. III A,ttiiShi IL anu
languages derived from it. A crane is SAT-
TO have BETRAYED the hiding place of one O
the Pandaya brothers, whose adventures ar
described IN the Sanskrit epic Mahahharata
The pigeon is thought to be auspicious
Pigeons are carefully reared in houses, whicl
they are believed to preserve from decay
The dove is looked upon as a harbinger O
good luck The sight of a pair of doves by
young married lady whose husband is ava
from home means that he will come back t
her soon.
There is a woman's saying that the cuckoo
note heard on the right is an excellent omen
and yet the cuckoo is held to be an unluck
bird in most parts of India. The bird papiy
Of the parrot species, is said to cry MY ey
is goingn-from the legend that once a ma
seeing many wicked deeds done befor
his eyes, died uttering these words, and wa
transformed into the bird. Superstition
people are afraid to do anything wrong bs
fore a papiya, lest it should betray then
| One little bird bears the curious designatio
of the bird of the lost money!; because
seems to utter in a low voice something tha
means "Oh! have you kept, or have | keI
itf' There is tradition that its first ance,
tors were man and wife who, having lost a
their wealth. died heart broken and wer
transformed into these birds The countr
folk believe that if you jingle money befor
them they Will curse you, believing it to
their own.-St James Gazette
| A Hymn of Grace.
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